Livewell for fishing boats
AssigneeAdvanced Marine Performance, LLC
InventorsBradley G. Garringer, Randy W. Hopper
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Some fishing boats include a livewell system. This document describes livewell systems that have multiple modes of operation. The modes of operation include, at least, a first mode with a lower water level and a second mode with a higher water level. While the livewell is operating in the second mode, the tank is nearly full of water. Accordingly, with a nearly full tank, the water in the livewell will resist sloshing around while the boat is navigating rough seas or travelling at high speeds or for long distances. Moreover, the health of the fish in the livewell will be protected because of the water's lessened tendency to slosh around in the livewell.
Claims18
A livewell system for use on a boat, the livewell system comprising:
- a reservoir tank defining a first compartment with a first lid and a second compartment with a second lid, wherein the first and second compartments are separable by a removable divider located at a mid-section of the reservoir tank;
- a water supply system operable to pump external water into the reservoir tank;
- a water drainage system comprising a drainage pump operable to draw water out via the bottom of the reservoir tank and eject the water out a discharge port;
- a water recirculation pump system operable to withdraw water from the reservoir tank and to return the withdrawn water separately to both the first compartment and the second compartment;
- a water level sensor coupled to the reservoir tank and operable to output a high water signal when the reservoir tank becomes nearly full of water;
- and
- a control system configured to:
- (i) receive the high water signal from the water level sensor and (ii) use a time delay period to control operations of the water supply system to pump the external water into the reservoir tank.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.